Bowling-alley.



No. 7I5,-202. l Patented Dec. 2;-1902, R. F. DWNEY.

BDWLING ALLEY. (Appliacion mea Apr. 14, 1902.)

(Ilo Mndei.)

l UNITED STATES i PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD EVDOWNEY, OF MILVAUKEE, vVISCONSIhL ASSIGNOR TO THE AUTOMATIC PORTABLE BOWLNG ALLEY COMPANY, OEMENOMINEE,

MICHIGAN.

^ BOWLING-ALLEY.

SPECIFICATON forming part of Letters Patent No. 715,202, dated December 2, 1902.

Application tiled April 14, 1902.

.To all whom, it nca/y concern: A

Be it known that I, RICHARD F. DowNEY, a citizen of theUnited States, and a resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bowling- Alleys; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention .has especial reference to the track or runway by which balls are returned from the pit end to the players end cfa bowling-alley; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, as will be fully set forth hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical` longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a bowling-alley runway embodyingmy present invention, taken on the plane indicated by the line A A in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken ou the plane'indicated'by the line B B in Fig. 1, except that only the rocker -plate which is shown in Fig. 1 is shown in section in Fig. 3, the other rockerplate at the right hand in Fig. 3 being shown in rear elevation. Fig. 4 is. a detail transverse sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line C C in Fig. 1.

Referring byY numerals to the drawings, 1 represents a portion of the trough or track on which the balls roll as they leave the pit end (not shown) of the alley and which track may have a slight downward inclination from rear to front, as is common in runways of'this class, said track being supported at proper intervals by blocks or transverse beams or other supports, as preferred, below the iioor 3 of the alley, although said track may be raised considerably abovev said door, especially at vthe pit end, if desired, this being a matter of convenience or judgment in any instance. 1n the illustration given I have shown at the players end of the alley a subioor 4, on which said, supporting blocks or beams rest, theblock and beam shown in Fig. 1 being marked 2 and 5, respectively, and there being a strip of the track (marked 6) exseriai No. 102.817. oro man) tending from the forward edge of the block 2 to and beyond the beam 5, leaving Sonie little.

space above said block 2 between the `adjacent ends of the track-sections 1 and 6. Secured to the under side of the subfloore is a transversely-disposed strip 7, having downward-projecting ears 8 at each end thereof, to whichareA pivot-allyV secured, by a pivotbolt 9, the lowerends of the tri-armed rockerplates 10 11, which plates at about the line of union of their rear and upper arms are provided with inwardly-projecting stops 12 13, and which plates project up through and have backward-and-forward movemeutwithin slots 14 15 inthe alley-licor 3. The outer arms of said rocker-plates have forward and downward projecting portions 16 at their upper ends, united by a transverse tie-rod 17, which serves as a stop for the side pieces of the cradle, as presently described. This cradle consists of a pair of side pieces 18 19, united at their real-'ends by a transverse tierod 20, (kept the proper distance apart by a sleeve or tube 2l between the side pieces,) secured by outside nuts, as shown, there being a similar tierod 22 uniting the said side pieces 18 19 near their front ends with a like sleeve or tube 23 to insure proper separation of the side pieces.

Loose on the sleeve or tube 23 is a collar 24, with a screw-threaded bore in its periphery to receive the forward end of a screw-threaded bolt 25, Whose head is transversely perforated to receive a transverse bolt 26, whose ends are'secured to the said side pieces 18 19, and the screw-bolt 25 is fitted with a pair of nuts 27 28, one on each side of aA collar 29, to which collar is rigidly secured a depending weight 30, the said weight being adjusted to the desired position on the bolt 25 and there secured in such position by the nuts 27 28 to serve as a proper counterbalance. In assembling these parts it 'will be understood that after the transverse bolt 26 is` pushed through the head of the screw-boltv 25 and secured to the side pieces 18 19 the nut 27, collar 29,

`and nut 28 are run on the said bolt 25, and

then the collar 24 is secured to the other end of said bolt by screwing the collar thereon with the bolt in the peripheral bore of said IOO collar and the latter turned till its central bore is in line with the openings for the bolt 22 in the side pieces 18 19. Then the bolt 25 is swung up on the transverse bolt 26 and the sleeve or tube 23 slipped through the central bore of said collar 23 and lowered, so that the tie-rod 22 can be slipped through the said openings in the side pieces and the interposed sleeve or collar, and then outside nuts tightened to place and the counterbalance adjusted, as before described.

The forward ends of the side pieces 18 19 of the cradle are given an abrupt upward bend, as shown at 31 32, and their lower ends are slightly curved to correspond with the adjacent ends of the rails of the track 1, while between the rear tie-rod 20 and transverse bolt 26 the inner opposed faces of the cradle side pieces are formed with slightlyspiral forwardly-projected recesses 33 34, as best shown in Fig. 2.

At the players end of the alley there is an elevated track consisting of a pair of side rails 35 36, (whichmay be either horizontally disposed or slightly downwardly inclined from rear to front, as preferred,) supported by suitable uprights 37 38, between which the track 6 extends, as shown in the drawings, the track 6 and rails 35 36 extending forward as far as desired to accommodate the usual number of return-balls.

At a point forward of the line of the described transverse strip 7 there is shown a transverse beam 39, secured to the upper surface of the subfloor 4, and projecting rearwardly from this beam are two blocks 40 41, forming stops for the forward movement of the rocker-plates 10 11. If desired, other stops may be substituted for these, but same have been found to work well in practice. The said rocker-plates 10 l1 are connected by a tie-rod 42, to which tie-rod are secured the adjacent ends of two spiral retracting-springs 43 44, spring 43 extending backward and being connected by cord or other flexible connection 45 to a fixed point, such as screw-eye 46, and the spring 44 extending forward and being connected by cord or other flexible connection 47 to a fixed point, such as the screweye 48, whereby one or the other of said springs will be always under tension whether the rocker-plates are at the backward or forward limit of their movement.

The operation of my device will be readily understood from the foregoing description of its construction, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. The pin-boy at the pit end starts the ball at the rear end of the trough on track 1, and as the same rolls down said track 1 and reaches The end thereof it jumps across the space above the block 2 into the cradle, and if it is a small ball (like the balls marked 49) it will roll between the described spiral recesses 33 34 in the cradle side pieces 18 19 onto the track-section 6 and continue to the end of said track; but if it is a large ball (like the balls marked 50) when it strikes the rear end of the cradle it shoves the side pieces 18 19 forward, carrying the rocker-plates forward therewith, whereupon the forward spring 44 will immediately exert its force and draw said rocker-plates and the cradle carried thereby over the center, and when the ball 50 reaches the described upwardly-bent ends 3l 32 of the cradle side pieces it stops rolling, and as the front arms of the rocker-plates strike the stops 40 41 the weight of the ball overcomes the counterbalance 30 and depresses the front ends 31 32 of the cradle till they rest on the transverse tie-rod 17 (having now slight downward inclination, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1) and the ball rolls off the .cradle and jumps over onto the rails 35 36, and as the ball leaves the cradle the weight of the longer ends of the side pieces, aided by the counterbalance 30, causes said side pieces to drop down and rest on the stops 12 and 13, and then the spring 43, which has been put under tension by the just-described forward movement of the rocker-plates, will instantly exert its force and draw said plates and the cradle back to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 ready to receive the next ball.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a bowling-alley, the combination with a trough or track leading forward from the pit end of the alley, and a separate independent elevated trough or track at the players end, of a ball-carrying cradle, pivoted at a point intermediate of the said two troughs or tracks, and adapted to rock backward to receive a ball from the first-named trough or track and to rock forward to deliver said ball to the last-named trough or track.

2. In a bowling-alley, the combination with a trough or track leading forward from the pit end of the alley and a separate independent elevated trough or track at the players end, of a rocking device pivoted at a point intermediate of the said two troughs or tracks, and a ball receiving and discharging cradle pivotally attached to said rocking device.

3. In a bowling-alley, the combination with a trough or track leading forward from the pit end of the alley, and a separate independ- 'ent elevated trough or track at the players end, of a rocking device rpivoted at a point intermediate of the said two troughs or tracks, and a pair of retracting-springs, each connected at one end to said rocking device, and the other ends of said springs being respectively connected to fixed points in front of, and back of, said rocking device, whereby one of said springs will be always under tension and the other always relaxed at the termination of either the forward or backward throw of said rocking device, and a ball receiving and discharging cradle pivotally attached to said rocking device.

4. In a bowling-alley, the combination with a trough or track leading forward from the IOO pit end of the alley, and a separate independent elevated trough or track at the players end, of a rocking device pivoted at a point intermediate of the said two troughs or tracks, retracting-springs for drawing said rocking device forward or back, stops for limiting the forward movement of said rocking device, a ball receiving and discharging cradle pivotallyv attached to said rocking device, cradlestops on said rocking device, and a counterbalance attached to said cradle.

5. In a bowling-alley, the combination with a trough or track leading forward from the pitend of the alley, and a separate independent elevated trough or track at the players end, of a third trough or track leading from a point forward of the forward termination of the first-named trough or track on substantially the same plane therewith, and extending forward beneath the said elevated trough or track, and a ball-receiving cradle located at a point intermediate of the two irst-named troughs or tracks and alcove the third-named trough or track, and formed with an opening for the passage of a ball therethrough.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, in the presence of two Witnesses.

RICHARD F. DOWNEY.

Witnesses:

H. G. UNDERwooD, FRANK H. SHEPHARD. 

